Timbergrove Manor is home to an abandoned graveyard called Vollmer Cemetery located at 6618 Cindy Lane. According to longtime resident Reen Cantazaro and her super sleuthing friend, Margo Cunningham, this almost forgotten cemetery is surrounded by Timbergrove Manor homes who literally have history in their backyards.

The hard-to-find and unmarked cemetery was established in the mid-1800s and sits discreetlyon about a half acre behind a wooden fence. It contains 32 marked burial sites and an unknown numberof unmarked graves as well. According to markers, the first person buried was Henry Hillendahl (1821-1878) and the last person interred was Annie C. Hilton (1888-1985).

Reen once interviewed long time Timbergrove resident and across the street neighbor to the cemetery, Gus Arndt (now diseased), about the graveyard.He told her that on the north side of the cemetery there are an unknown number of unmarked graves of African American soldiers who fought in the Civil War. At one time those graves were marked with little white crosses, but unfortunately, those little crosses disintegrated and were not replaced when the cemetery was abandoned.

The cemetery has been referred to by several names in the past including Vollmer Family Cemetery, Vollmer-Niemann Cemetery, Niemann Family Cemetery, and the Eureka Cemetery. In addition to the Civil War soldiers buried there, the marked graves hold members of several Spring Branch families, from a time when this area was known as Vollmer in the mid-1800s. Reen did quite a bit of work to get the cemetery officially registered as a historic site in 2007, though there is no historical marker to denote it.

And, while all of the neighbors surrounding the cemetery know about it and most of them have gates built into their wooden fences so that they can access it when they desire, the cemetery is abandoned in the sense that there is no point person to regularly care for it. Reen mowed the cemetery once herself. Now, she pays a mowing company to come out regularly and mow it. If anyone reading this would like to help offset her monthly mowing costs, email blockcaptains@timbergrove.orgto get in touch with her. Likewise, if one of our local Boy Scout Troops is interested in a Community Service Project, it looks as if it’s time to apply some elbow grease to straighten the headstones and markers, so please email to get in touch.

In 2021, the wooden fence on the property line separating the Cantazaro’s property and the cemetery blew down in a storm. Instead of replacing it with another wooden fence which would hide the cemetery, the Cantazaros put up a wrought iron fence so that the cemetery, and up to that point in time widely unknown Timbergrove Manor history, could be revealed.

A few years ago, one of the neighbors across the street from the cemetery had some landscaping work done and discovered a pet cemetery in their front yard. Because the skull of a horse they found was in fantastic condition, theybrought the skull to Reen to place on the wrought iron fencing. Since then, some of our Timbergrove neighbors have given it one more name -“Cowboy Cemetery” because of the horse head skull.

Unfortunately, beyond the fact that there is a cemetery and the remains of a pet cemetery in the neighborhood, not much else is known. We don’t know if there was ever a church or if it was just a burial site on part of a family farm. It adds to the mystery and charm to not know everything about it, especially as Halloween approaches. This Halloween, look for the skeleton hanging over the wrought iron fence. That’s how you’ll know the cemetery’s location.

You might wonder who is buried there. While there are some unmarked and therefore unknown graves there, as well as a couple of notable folks, most who are buried there are just family members buried in a common place who used to live nearby. They lived everyday lives much as we do today. But, in an effort to name them, keep reading to learn who they were.

W. H. Hillendahl (1870-1904) was an early German settler. The Hillendahl family was very important in the development of Houston. Hillendahl Boulevard, the Hillendahl Neighborhood Library, and the Hilldendahl Medical Clinic are all located in the Spring Branch area. A family member of the Hillendahls lived in Timbergrove Manor (and volunteered with TMCC) until 2019 when the last one of the family moved away. Other Hillendahl family members buried include: Henry (1821-1878), Kate (1820-1895), Marie Henrietta (1848-1912), Othelia Maria (1879-1918), Theo (1894-1931), and Katie Clay Hillendahl (1870-1893), along with her family members Louis Clay (1846-1935), Kate Vollmer Clay (1850-1916), UnnamedBaby Clay, Infant Clay (1 day, 1890), and Marguerite (3 mo, 1919).

Conrad Sauer (1843-1917) was a German farmer who settled in this area and operated a dairy nearby. For a time he worked paving and repairing the streets in what we now know as Spring Branch. Conrad Sauer Street is named in his honor. Other Sauer family members include:, Nancy (1815-1881) and Conrad W. (1874-1939).

Niemann family members include: Marie (1813-1888), Herman (1823-1879), Henry (1852-1934), and Louis (1853-1938).

The Vollmer family members include: John (1855-1935), Henry, Jr. (1859-1891), William (1863-1940), Annie E. (1869-1938), and Paul (1903-1963).

Hilton family members buried include: George (1882-1958), James (1885-1932), Annie C. (1888-1985), Hulda (1895-1959), L. T. (1906-1982), Oliver (1912-1965), and Jewell M. (1919-1929).

Kate C. Thiel (1843-1882) is also buried there.

Local Abandoned Graveyard Offers Residents A Look Back At Timbergrove Manor History